YDHS Friday talk July 2024

The Library’s meeting room was full. John’s relatives, neighbours, friends, shearers, Society members and many other interested locals came prepared for a fascinating talk. John was a farmer at Inman Valley and now lives at Victor Harbor. His father Reg and grandfather Elijah were Inman Valley farmers. He started shearing at 14 years of age in 1957 and was taught by his father who was noted for clean work.
The Australian Wool Corporation employed John as a part time instructor and later he became the trainer in charge for South Australia. He took learning schools to the sheds, 30 per team. He instructed in person and by playing back videos of the youths shearing.
John entertained the audience with many stories of his years as a shearer and instructor. For example, at ‘Pine Ridge’ north of Broken Hill, the owners insisted the wild station turkeys were protected. John had a quandary when he found a plucked turkey in the cool room! He talked about the difficulty of getting to the outback sheds because of the huge distances. For example, ‘Big’ Bob Cutler of Geelong was away from home for nine months at a time. He took the train to Adelaide and with a contract team went to Maree where the team bicycled 900ks to the sheds. This journey could take two weeks, and tyre punctures were frequent. Their bikes can now be found in the Shearers’ Museum in Hay New South Wales.
John showed his precious shears - over 100 years old, found in the shed store at Spalding still wrapped in oiled paper. John is an inducted member of the Shearing Hall of Fame.